To facilitate military operations against livestock rustlers, the Ugandan government plans to build a security route from the Teso sub-region via Karamoja, Lango, and up to Agago District in the Acholi sub-region.
The Minister of Works and Transport, Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala, made the announcement on Wednesday, November 22, in Otuke District, while commissioning the reconstruction of a 31-kilometer district road that runs from the Baralegi Presidential State Lodge in Okwang sub-county, Otuke, to Agweng town council in Lira District.
Katumba stated that once the road is opened, the military would be able to deploy and combat the livestock rustlers from Karamoja, who have recently been a major burden on the people in the neighboring districts of Teso, Lango, and Acholi.
He stated that the projected infrastructure would run from Lekopate in the Teso sub-region to Agago via Katakwi, Kapelebyong, and Abim.
The minister toured many highways linking Lira and Otuke with damaged bridges that have shut off roadways before launching the road improvements at Okwang Town Council offices.
He also visited the Kaguta Bridge, which connects the districts of Otuke, Lira, and Alebtong and was named after President Yoweri Museveni.
Gen. Katumba told the public that a number of projects in the Lango sub-region are in the works.
He stated that the government is dedicated to improve road infrastructure in Lango, with the only issue being the Covid-19 epidemic, which caused delays in starting work on the roads in the sub-region, which has a very inadequate road network.
The recently opened road connecting Okwang and Agweng in the hinterland is critical for farmers in the region transporting their goods to market.
“People in this area are very productive, they grow a lot of rice, maize and sorghum and if we don’t enable them to evacuate their products, then all their efforts will be lost as they will be cheated since they will not access the markets because of bad roads,” Katumba said.
He urged the people to embrace government initiatives and put the money they were given to good use in order to improve their life.
“I appeal to you to use this facility to develop personally, use it for transporting the farm products to the market and after selling use the money productively to enable you to transform from grass thatch houses to mabaati [iron sheets],” Katumba, the minister, addressed the people of Otuke
Otuke MP Paul Omara expressed gratitude to Katumba for paving the way for Otuke’s progress. The route also leads to the president’s upcountry house.
Omara, who is also the head of the Otuke district roads committee, testified that the presidential convoy got stalled on the road on its route to the state lodge around eight years ago, which was highly embarrassing.
He claims that the route would not only assist link to the presidential state retreat, but will also stimulate business in the area.
He stated that the roads in Otuke are inaccessible due to marshes, and many are narrow and impassable, and that they want to spend the sh1 billion allocated to districts each fiscal year to work on around 24 roads totaling 194 kilometers.
Eng. Bosco Lepi, regional force on account manager, stated that the commissioned project would be executed in phases, with the first 16km finished in five months at a cost of sh500m this fiscal year, and the remaining section completed the next fiscal year.
The repair work will comprise general clearing, severe grading, excavation of drainage systems, and full gravelling of the whole route, according to him.
Lepi stated that while they manage the complete renovation of the 16km, the remaining portion of the road network would be carefully maintained for motorists’ usage.
Cecilia Agang, the woman councillor representing Barjobi town council and Barjobi sub-county in the Otuke District Council, stated that the road renovation will help the district generate more cash.
Agang urged the government to boost the cash allocated to districts for road repair, claiming that the existing allocation is insufficient to cover all roads in the district.
